Rubel moves HC for anticipatory bail

Bangladesh cricketer Rubel Hossain has moved the High Court for anticipatory bail in a case filed by actress Naznin Akter Happy.

The actress on Saturday sued him under the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act with Mirpur police for cheating on her.

Rubel’s lawyer SM Rezaul Karim submitted the bail plea at the bench of Justices Syed AB Mahmudul Huq and Md Akram Hossain Chowdhury on Monday.

Deputy Attorney General Md Bashirullah told bdnews24.com the hearing may be held in the afternoon.

Happy filed the case with Mirpur police alleging that Rubel had promised to marry her and the two shared intimate relations after having got in touch through Facebook.

"Rubel got involved with another girl while talks about our marriage were on. He avoided me each time I tried to talk about it," she claimed.

Mirpur Police Station OC Salahuddin said Happy had frequented Rubel's apartment near the Commerce College in Mirpur.

A medical test was done on her at Dhaka Medical College and Hospital on Sunday to examine if her claim on intimate relations with the cricketer was genuine.

After the test, she said she still expected Rubel as her life partner and promised no further legal action only if he married her.

Meanwhile, police have not yet arrested the cricketer in the case.

Case investigation officer Masud Parvez, a sub-inspector of Mirpur police, Sunday told bdnews24.com: “Rubel is a national cricketer. His position is high. He has no chance of running away.”

He had said police were investigating the allegation and “the question of his arrest comes only after clear evidence”.

Rubel could not be reached for comments in the last two days.

Happy, a BBA student in a private university, acted in a recent Bangla film and more of her films are in the pipeline.

Rubel, who will turn 25 next month, hails from Bagerhat. He has been a regular in the national team. He has bagged 69 wickets in 53 ODIs and 32 wickets in 22 Tests.

However, after the case was filed on Saturday, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) reacted cautiously.

"I have heard of the case and the allegations levelled. But I can only react when we have the case papers and a clear idea of what happened," said BCB Chief Executive Officer Nizamuddin Chowdhury.